Fifth Battle of Corellia
= History = In the wake of its reconquest of Corellia, the Empire had wasted no time in taking over the various civil and security institutions of the system. Corsec in particular was heavily changed by its new rulers with many of its branches finding themselves under direct supervision. Long-held suspicion that it was pro-Republic, whether it was in fact so, led to the appointment of Imperial liaison personnel even at the local level. However, the Empire did not go so far as attempt to actually run the system, that task was delegated to local authorities who operated under some strict guidelines. Disengagement The first signs of trouble for the Empire came when smuggling into and out of the system spiked all of a sudden. While there were a variety of reasons for this, much of it could be traced to a grassroots campaign that was designed to 'disengage with the occupation'. Its exact origins couldn't be pinpointed but it swept through the system and before long tax evasion along with a variety of other acts of civil disobedience grew. There were even demonstrations held in important government centres, but those, more often than not, were dispersed by CorSec forces. The demonstrations did not cease, however, and despite efforts to clamp down on smuggling, it only grew. With the failure of local forces to restore order, the Empire deployed a proper occupation force, Imperial Army and Stormtroopers units swarmed the planet's major towns and cities in an effort to keep the peace. The Tyrena Massacre The protests weren't abated by the sudden presence of large Imperial forces, if anything, their organizers only grew bolder. It was only a matter of time before a tragedy would occur and as could be expected, it did. The city of Tyrena, one of the largest recruiting grounds for the original Alliance, had been the site of many of the largest demonstrations and the Empire had a large presence there. One day, the protestors drew too close to the Imperial garrison and the crowd on that day was particularly agitated. Abuses were shouted at the Imperial troops stationed before the garrison and pro-Empire sources often say that the protestors went so far as to throw rocks and lit bottles at the troops. What is certain is that the Imperial troops responded with the only weapons at their disposal, their rifles, and by the time the smoke had cleared, 83 protestors were wounded or dead. = Birth of a Rebellion = The Tyrena massacre as the event was being dubbed, would be the turning point in radicalizing what had been a peaceful movement on Corellia. Various groups were formed that undertook an armed insurrection against the Empire, with the largest of these terming itself the Five Brothers in honour of the five planets in the system. A coordinated bombing and sabotage campaign was undertaken throughout the system, although the rebels knew enough to focus their efforts on Imperial targets lest they lose the support of the public. Outside Help Despite the groundswell of support for the insurrection and the steadily worsening guerilla campaign, the Corellian rebels knew they had no chance of victory on their own. This is when the Five Brothers organization reached out towards any who might help it, and specifically the New Republic who had kept apprised of the situation. Shipments of materiel were arranged through smugglers and the Republic also dispatched materiel, and the rebels shifted their campaign into high-gear. This culminated into the Day of Revenge, the sixth-month anniversary of the Tyrena massacre, where Imperial installations across the system were attacked almost simultaneously in a show of the rebellion's capacity. The Republic's Arrival The presence of major shipyards and Corellia's economic value as well as the prestige gained by holding it guaranteed that the Empire would not simply walk away. But the rebellion was given precious breathing space as the Republic staged a series of raids along the border with the Empire. Reports also streamed to Imperial High Command that it sought to take advantage of the chaos to mount an offensive of its own. These were seemingly confirmed as installations in the Gyndine system were attacked, the Republic's assault even managed to destroy a space station that protected the planet from ground assault. Reinforcements that were destined to Corellia were instead diverted to Gyndine to await the inevitable final assault by the Republic. In retrospect, that was the logical decision as Corellia's defences were still formidable and an assault on Gyndine had a better chance of success. The New Republic, however, did not go for the obvious prize. On the 20th day of the month of Nelona, Republican forces jumped into Corellia en force and tOOK advantage of a smaller garrison - key Imperial starships were sent to Gyndine to help the forces there defend from a Republican feint - along with a series of attacks against key defence infrastructures by the Corellian rebellion. Before long, the Republic's fleet had taken position over the five planets and sent down troop transports. A Bloody Stalemate The unexpected nature of the attack along with the sheer numbers the Republic had deployed guaranteed the success of its first wave, and key cities on Corellia had been taken, or "liberated" as the Republic and its rebel allies called it. But the assault soon became bogged down as the Empire deployed its own reinforcements and stopped the Republican offensive, although it was unable to reverse the gains that had been made. The fighting degenerated into a bloody stalemate with the Republic maintaining its foothold in the system but without enough material and reinforcements available to it to go back on the offensive and kick off the Empire. While both sides were being bled, the war of attrition was to the Empire's advantage as it had the greater resources at its disposal. = Endgame = Failed Negotiations Category:Battles